Concerns, questions and issues follow each club to Arizona and Florida, where each hopes to find answers over their six-plus weeks in training. Usually things work themselves out and by the time camps break and the regular season begins, there are no major lingering uncertainties.

Usually, but not always. With a week to go until this year’s opening day, some situations remain cloudy and clarity doesn’t seem all that close.

Five of the biggest unresolved issues as teams prepare to enter the regular season:

1. How will the Yankees score runs?

New York is accustomed to finishing at or near the top of the American League’s runs leaders, and last season it set a franchise record with a major league-high 245 home runs.

But by the time the Yankees met the Detroit Tigers in the American League Championship Series, no one could find a hint of that offensive prowess. The Yankees scored six runs in four games against Detroit and concerns about the team’s offense became evident.

Those issues will linger into the 2013 regular season. Injuries to Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira are likely to sap run production, and outside of Robinson Cano, no one currently in the lineup has looked like he is prepared to swoop in and save the day. Compounding those injuries, the Yankees lost 94 home runs among five players (Nick Swisher, Russell Martin, Raul Ibanez, Eric Chavez, Andruw Jones) to free agency.

The Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles could all seriously contend for the AL East title as well as a wild-card spot. If the Yankees can’t figure out where their runs will come from, they might miss the playoffs for just the second time in 19 years.

2. A black hole for the boys in blue

The Los Angeles Dodgers have not had an everyday shortstop since Rafael Furcal in 2010, and that’s stretching the term since Furcal spent so much time in the trainer’s room that year. Last season they thought they were set at the position with Dee Gordon, but he did a good job of convincing everyone he wasn’t ready.

That leaves Luis Cruz to man the position. Cruz is serviceable, but he isn’t a long-term solution.

Ramirez’s injury also leaves a hole in the Dodgers’ lineup. Ramirez was expected to hit fifth, immediately behind Matt Kemp and Adrian Gonzalez. Even if Ramirez doesn’t hit for a great average, his power can be a deterrent to pitching around those other two. Now, the Dodgers have to hope Andre Ethier can hit left-handed pitching well enough to take that spot on a daily basis.

Ramirez will eventually be back, but it’s more bad luck for a position that has cursed the Dodgers recently.

3. From World Series contender to who knows what in Texas

At this time a year ago, the Texas Rangers looked like one of the best teams in the AL. And for a good chunk of the summer, they were exactly that. After an ugly finish to their season, capped by a loss in the wild-card play-in game, and a bad offseason, the Rangers are looking like an enigma.

The Rangers looked to be favorites to land the best free-agent position player and pitcher in the offseason, but Josh Hamilton and Zack Greinke decided to take the money being offered in Southern California, leaving the Rangers empty-handed. With what the Angels have done—they won over Hamilton—and with the Oakland A’s clearly a threat, the Rangers will break camp looking like the third-best team in the West.

Their rotation doesn’t strike much fear and they never replaced Hamilton’s bat. They also lost a lot of pop when Mike Napoli signed with the Boston Red Sox. On top of that, there is a pending MLB investigation that could result in a 50-game suspension for right fielder Nelson Cruz, whose name is included in the documents of a South Florida anti-aging clinic (Biogenesis) that may have sold performance-enhancing drugs to players.

Clearly, this isn’t the same Rangers team that went to the World Series in 2010 and 2011. That’s about the only thing that is clear for this club right now.

4. How good is the Blue Jays’ pitching?

Toronto transformed itself into a legitimate contender in the offseason on the strength of two blockbuster trades. Most of the optimism in camp is due to a remade rotation which features newcomers R.A. Dickey, Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle along with incumbents Brandon Morrow and (likely) Ricky Romero.

Pitchers can be a gamble, though. It would be a lot to expect Dickey to outdo his 2012 season, in which he won the National League’s Cy Young Award with the New York Mets. Johnson is hoping to recapture the top-of-the-rotation form that made him a valuable commodity. The Jays also need Romero to return to his 2011 numbers (2.92 ERA, 225 innings) rather than the ones that made him one of the worst starting pitchers in the majors last year (5.77 ERA, 181 innings, 1.67 WHIP).

We can’t read a lot into spring training numbers, but Morrow, Buehrle, Romero and Dickey all have Grapefruit League ERAs well above 6.00, and only Johnson (two earned runs in 10 2/3 innings) has looked good in camp. They all may dominate once the regular-season bell rings, but for now it’s still a question as to how good this group can be in a hitter-friendly division.

Those players were named in initial reports about Biogenesis' alleged practices. Teams and players aren’t privy to what baseball has uncovered, but people inside the commissioner’s office have said MLB won’t go easy on anyone involved.

Until the findings are announced, those players and teams will be holding their breath.